Building a Better Wildlife Freeway Crossing

8 Responses to “Building a Better Wildlife Freeway Crossing”

1. Tweets that mention Competition Encourages the Building of a Better Wildlife Freeway Crossing | Magical Urbanism -- Topsy.com says:

   February 15, 2011 at 10:49 pm

   [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Wildlife Society, Mike Ernst. Mike Ernst said: Building a Better Wildlife Freeway Crossing http://bit.ly/gp5lNT [...]
2. Steve says:

   February 17, 2011 at 11:25 pm

   That all fine n Jazz bit, would animals know to cross there?
3. Mike says:

   February 18, 2011 at 1:10 pm

   @Steve I think the success of this idea is based on the assumption that the forested areas on either side of the highway are fenced in. Large animals wouldn’t have the option to cross anywhere else.
4. Vandal Cain says:

   April 14, 2011 at 11:39 am

   Seems over the top.
5. Mike says:

   April 18, 2011 at 8:19 pm

   @Vandal Cain fair enough
6. anonymous says:

   July 14, 2011 at 2:09 pm

   connecting broken habitat systems across highways is actually extremely important for preserving the diverse ecosystems we have largely destroyed. although it might seem a little over the top, it’s no different from connecting human populations through massive infrastructure such as the interstate highway system…so they don’t just look awesome, they solve problems not foreseen when we first constructed the highways. the firms presented here did impressive work with the competition
7. Marc M says:

   August 22, 2011 at 2:42 pm

   This seems to be a similar concept to the Green Bridge in London (1999). I guess there are not many new ideas out there.
   http://www.czwg.com/en/Work/Public%20Buildings%20and%20Major%20Exhibitions/The%20Green%20Bridge
8. Chris says:

   November 28, 2011 at 7:48 pm

   In New South Wales (Australia) fauna crossings are taken very seriously by the government department that manages the major road system in the state and the consultants undertaking the work. Fauna crossings are designed to cater for all types of fauna from land based animals , fish, and birds. Australia has an enormous diversity of fauna but unfortunately extinction rates are amongst the highest in the world due to sensitive habitat requirements and the large number of subspecies, all competing for reduced amounts of land.

   Despite this there are less than a handful of instances where an overpass or underpass has been created for passage of fauna. Generally these would only be considered if an endangered fauna species is present in the area due to the ENORMOUS expense of building these types of structures. The landbridges are not just for large fauna but also ground loving birds. We also have gliding fauna (sought of like bats) that can only fly small distances at a time. In this instance we would have a series of timber poles connected by rope and rope ways, and linking to existing forests. While all the schemes in the competition look great, they are not really offering anything new from our perspective and I seriously doubt whether they would attract the level of funding needed.

   The other problem is that once all the fencing, barrier rails, concrete go in and the legislation surrounding setbacks and clear zones etc kicks in these structures don’t end up having enough vegetation on them or around them.

   There is also the problem of funnelling “prey” into one area creating a smorgasbord for the nearest Hawk or something else at the top of the food chain.

   Another problem is if you create habitat over a road you end up with animals and birds hanging around which tends to increase the road kill.

   Another problem is trying to keep a kangaroo behind a fence! The fences are designed to be light weight visual barriers, they wont stop an animal intent on getting through to that nice patch of grass next to the road. Otherwise the fences end up being huge, very expensive and very unsightly.

   Its all pretty depressing but we have to keep trying to find an answer.

Tweets that mention Competition Encourages the Building of a Better Wildlife Freeway Crossing | Magical Urbanism -- Topsy.com says:

February 15, 2011 at 10:49 pm

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Wildlife Society, Mike Ernst. Mike Ernst said: Building a Better Wildlife Freeway Crossing http://bit.ly/gp5lNT [...]

Steve says:

February 17, 2011 at 11:25 pm

That all fine n Jazz bit, would animals know to cross there?

Mike says:

February 18, 2011 at 1:10 pm

@Steve I think the success of this idea is based on the assumption that the forested areas on either side of the highway are fenced in. Large animals wouldn’t have the option to cross anywhere else.

Vandal Cain says:

April 14, 2011 at 11:39 am

Seems over the top.

Mike says:

April 18, 2011 at 8:19 pm

@Vandal Cain fair enough

anonymous says:

July 14, 2011 at 2:09 pm

connecting broken habitat systems across highways is actually extremely important for preserving the diverse ecosystems we have largely destroyed. although it might seem a little over the top, it’s no different from connecting human populations through massive infrastructure such as the interstate highway system…so they don’t just look awesome, they solve problems not foreseen when we first constructed the highways. the firms presented here did impressive work with the competition

Marc M says:

August 22, 2011 at 2:42 pm

This seems to be a similar concept to the Green Bridge in London (1999). I guess there are not many new ideas out there.
http://www.czwg.com/en/Work/Public%20Buildings%20and%20Major%20Exhibitions/The%20Green%20Bridge

Chris says:

November 28, 2011 at 7:48 pm

In New South Wales (Australia) fauna crossings are taken very seriously by the government department that manages the major road system in the state and the consultants undertaking the work. Fauna crossings are designed to cater for all types of fauna from land based animals , fish, and birds. Australia has an enormous diversity of fauna but unfortunately extinction rates are amongst the highest in the world due to sensitive habitat requirements and the large number of subspecies, all competing for reduced amounts of land.

Despite this there are less than a handful of instances where an overpass or underpass has been created for passage of fauna. Generally these would only be considered if an endangered fauna species is present in the area due to the ENORMOUS expense of building these types of structures. The landbridges are not just for large fauna but also ground loving birds. We also have gliding fauna (sought of like bats) that can only fly small distances at a time. In this instance we would have a series of timber poles connected by rope and rope ways, and linking to existing forests. While all the schemes in the competition look great, they are not really offering anything new from our perspective and I seriously doubt whether they would attract the level of funding needed.

The other problem is that once all the fencing, barrier rails, concrete go in and the legislation surrounding setbacks and clear zones etc kicks in these structures don’t end up having enough vegetation on them or around them.

There is also the problem of funnelling “prey” into one area creating a smorgasbord for the nearest Hawk or something else at the top of the food chain.

Another problem is if you create habitat over a road you end up with animals and birds hanging around which tends to increase the road kill.

Another problem is trying to keep a kangaroo behind a fence! The fences are designed to be light weight visual barriers, they wont stop an animal intent on getting through to that nice patch of grass next to the road. Otherwise the fences end up being huge, very expensive and very unsightly.

Its all pretty depressing but we have to keep trying to find an answer.